Car Projection Mapping for Showrooms and Auto Shows

Projection mapping can turn a car display into something people want to stop and watch. Light and motion follow the vehicle's contours, making its body appear to change color, revealing what's beneath the surface, or bringing its design lines to life. It's a way for automakers, dealerships, and event teams to make a new model stand out at an auto show, showroom, or product launch.

Planning a car display? Tell us about the car and where it will be shown, and let's explore what we can create with projection mapping.

Unlike a flat projection surface, a car has complex three-dimensional contours that the content must follow precisely. Our team specializes in mapping irregular surfaces, including vehicles, and uses photogrammetry to capture their geometry before production begins.

Polished metal, mirrors, and glass make that process more challenging because they can confuse scanners. We account for this by capturing additional angles, using cross-polarized photography, or masking reflective areas and handling them manually during content production. These details matter because paint and windscreens respond to projected light differently from a matte wall. We account for those differences when designing the animation.

• 3D model of the car. We capture the real panels, glass and wheels, so the animation lines up with the shut lines rather than drifting across them.
• Animation built for the model. We create custom 3D animation around your branding, product and messaging. You provide logos, product assets and creative direction.
• Hero-car mapping on a stand. We wrap the car in synced motion graphics on 3D-tracked geometry, looped or on demand, as part of our trade show technology.
• Configurators beside the car. Real-time configurators let visitors build, paint and spec a vehicle, and we have built them for cars and liveries.
• X-ray sliders. A monitor on a physical track, up to 8 ft long, becomes an X-ray that visitors drag across a car.
• Driving moments. We have paired steering-wheel sims with wind blasters and auto-capture cameras, so guests leave with a souvenir photo.

The setting decides how the mapping is run, more than the car does.

Showrooms need a sequence that can run throughout the day without a technician standing by. With content processed in advance, staff can start the show at the press of a button, then return their attention to the customer.

Auto show stands need to attract attention in a crowded hall. A projection-mapped car gives visitors a reason to stop, while on-demand playback lets the team trigger the full sequence when a crowd gathers.

Dealer meetings and conferences often combine a vehicle display with large projection walls that tell the story of an entire model lineup. The car becomes part of a larger presentation rather than the only focus.

Whatever the setting, the room matters. You need a dark or dimmable space with a clear view of the vehicle and enough throw distance for the projectors, and we check those conditions before content starts.

Staging the reveal itself and designing a complete showroom environment are separate briefs, which we scope on their own.

We have not yet published a case study of mapping onto a single car. These published projects show our automotive work:

• Toyota National Dealer Meeting: At Mandalay Bay, our projection gave Toyota a showcase of new vehicle features and technological advances, using six Panasonic PT-RQ22KU 4K projectors on the curved front wall and twelve Barco UDX-4K32 projectors on the surrounding walls.
• Jeep 4D theater at the Winter X Games: We built a 30-foot geodesic dome that simulated riding off-road in a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, with 18 motion-activated heated leather seats and ultra-realistic 3D content of the vehicles off-roading. Over two years, nearly 5000 attendees took the ride.

Tell us the model, where it will be shown, the dates and who will be watching. We will come back with how we would capture the car, light it and build content for it. For interactive pieces that sit beside the vehicle, see our programming and interactivity page, browse the full range of projection mapping services, or contact our team to get started.